Along a small country road, the property is sheltered behind massive and well-maintained hedgerows, so typical of the Pays d’Auge countryside. An electric gate marks the entrance to the property, near which an orchard provides glimpses of the manor house, while its half-timbered barn, set almost at a right angle to the dwelling, has been reconverted in large part. Further on, the property also includes a second timber-framed dwelling, a dovecote and a machine room, creating an architectural unity with features characteristic of the 15th-18th centuries. In all likelihood built in the second half of the 15th century, the rectangular-shaped manor house stretches from north to south and, according to several architectural studies, seems to have been built over an older edifice, while its interior and exterior were built using the same materials – stone, terracotta and wood – in the traditional architectural style so ubiquitous to the region. In addition, this manor house particularly stands out thanks to the rather astounding rediscovery and preservation of its original Renaissance-era décor, which was resurrected behind its wood panelling in the 18th century.
As for the various buildings on the property, they are elegantly scattered along a gentle slope and connected to one another via tree-lined paths, while, further on, a second entrance to the property provides access, in particular, to the second dwelling.
Up on higher ground, the immense property also includes a variety of interconnected gardens, which create wide verdant spaces with tantalising essences and fragrances, as well as a stream and a pond. As for the forest cover, it is mainly composed of mature trees and encircles the back of the property. In addition, woodlands and pastures, stretching as far as the eye can see, blanket the nearby hills, while the Touques River valley is located below as well as a stud farm further on.

The Manor House

Like many other buildings in the Pays d’Auge, the manor house, which gives so much grandeur to the property, was designed with a mélange of architectural motifs. So much so that it piqued the curiosity of one of France’s first archaeologists, Arcisse de Caumont, who wrote: “Near the church and to the west, is the 16th-century manor house, the ashlar stone gable end of which is flanked by two buttresses…”.
On its southern gable end wall, built in the 15th century, an arched door surrounded by curvilinear moulding provides access to the cellars. As for the manor’s opposite gable end, it was constructed out of red brick and fully reorganised in order to provide the interior spaces with a modern entrance. Facing east and west, the manor was built on a slope, the eastern side of which has been converted into a patio, accessible from a terraced pathway. Most likely backfilled many years ago, the patio provides glimpses of a solid foundation clad in ancient bricks, on which the house rests, while the house’s two half-timbered exteriors are cadenced by vertical posts and reinforced load-bearing lintels, assembled in the traditional manner with tenon and mortise joints. In addition, crushed brick was used to fill in the spaces between the timber framing and walls dressed in stone or red brick frame the half-timbered sections. As for its western exterior, a portion of the house juts slightly forward creating a central row of vertical windows, clad in stone polished by the centuries, and topped with a large gabled, half-timbered dormer window.
With a number of other dormer windows as well as three large chimneys punctuating the manor’s antique tile hipped roof, the red copper of the drainpipes highlight the ochre corners of the manor’s stone cladding, while small-paned windows on the house’s two lower levels provide dual-aspect light for its interior and the manor’s ancient wooden front doors still contain vestiges of the cut nails that were used in their construction. Lastly, surrounding the dwelling on all sides, yew topiaries and manicured shrubs accentuate the manor’s elegant exterior.

The ground floor
With a rectangular floor plan, this level is accessible from the main entrance located in the manor’s northern gable end extension, which opens onto the entrance hall, formerly a dairy, with terracotta floor tiles in red ochre tones, while a solid, honey-colour oak staircase and its straight wrought-iron handrail run along the length of an opus mixtum wall built in 1724. The entrance hall, with built-in wall cupboards, includes a solid oak cloakroom as well as a guest lavatory, and provides access to the fitted kitchen with solid oak cupboards, terracotta floor tiles and white exposed ceiling beams. Following on from here is a dining room with wood panelling and chalk-colour exposed ceiling beams, a large drawing room with a spiral staircase as well as a sitting room with 18th-century wood panelling. Ample in size, the rooms are bathed in light by large windows, while, the floors, burnished by time, are covered in original terracotta or natural stone floor tiles. Topped with exposed ceiling beams, the rooms all have large fireplaces, some of which have been fitted with wood-burning stoves.
The sitting room, entirely clad in wood panelling painted in shades of grey, includes an ashlar stone fireplace topped with a straight mantel. On its chimneybreast, a three-dimensional painted octagon is topped with arabesques painted in wine-colour shades and flanked on each side by frescoes depicting angels standing on bases decorated with acanthus leaves, while foliage and florets adorn their hair and cover their fresh-faced visages.
The large adjacent drawing room, separated from the previous room by a half-timbered and cob shear wall, is accessible, on one side, via a moulded natural wood door, as well as, on the other side, a carved wooden doorframe adorned with diamond and rosette patterns. In addition, a panel connecting to the manor’s eastern wall is decorated with a wall painting surrounded by an ornamental painted frame.
As for the room’s pièce de resistance, a depiction of the battle of Marignan (1515) created in the years following the event, it was revealed during the installation of the room’s wall panelling in the second half of the 20th century and represents a breath-taking iconographic testimony of the knights of François I during the Italian Wars (1494-1559). The large drawing room also contains an ashlar stone fireplace decorated with ancient paintings, while its imposing mantel spanning approximately 4 metres, is supported by wide pilasters and its ceiling, buttressed by large sprockets, is decorated with grey and black cartouches. Lastly, its central beam could have also displayed, at one time, coats-of-arms, which today are no longer visible.
The first floor
On this floor, the exposed ceiling beams are decorated with interlacing designs and geometrical figures, which provide a rare glimpse of the way in which half-timbered manor house interiors were decorated in the 16th century. Following the same floor plan as the ground floor, a hallway leads to two large rooms, which were converted into immense bedrooms, one of which has its own bathroom. On the other side of the spiral staircase, two other bedrooms abut their own bathrooms, while their heavy doors have preserved their multi-century patina. In addition, the floors are covered in polished Pré-d’Auge stone tiles and the room’s small-paned windows inundate the spaces with a soft filtered light, which highlights their elegantly crafted décor.
On this floor, two rooms stand out in particular: the first, located in the house’s southern gable end, is a bedroom with an immense working stone fireplace, the décor of which elegantly matches the room’s painted frescoes depicting trompe-l’oeil arches supported by round columns topped with capitals adorned with vegetal motifs and resting on bases decorated with rectangular panels in a range of reddish tones, while in some of the upper corners, the artist depicted tulips, daisies and rosettes.
The other bedroom, located above the drawing room decorated with the Marignan fresco, also includes a massive fireplace, the jambs of which, in ashlar stone, are made up of two columns resting on bases decorated with curvilinear details. In all likelihood the oldest element in the manor house, this fireplace was most likely part of the original seigniorial manor, at least one century older than the current one.
The second floor
Accessible via the spiral staircase, the attic level has been completely converted. A hallway with hardwood floors leads to two bedrooms, which share a shower room with lavatory, while, on the other side, another bedroom abuts a private shower room. With exposed ceiling beams and solid oak hardwood floors, ancient doors with traditional latches have also been installed throughout this level.